By Siobhan O’Leary As Amazon publicly seeks PR experts to market the Kindle program in Germany, speculation is on the rise that a dedicated German Kindle store is on the horizon. For real this time. To this point, Kindle customers on the search for German-language books have more or less been left out in the cold. Until recently, the German selection …

By Siobhan O’Leary A book published last week by Campus Verlag is causing quite a fuss at Bertelsmann headquarters in Gütersloh. Bertelsmannrepublik Deutschland is a critical look at the close personal ties between Bertelsmann AG, the corporation, and the Bertelsmann Stiftung, or foundation. The author, Thomas Schuler, particularly calls into question the foundation’s non-profit status and the substantial tax breaks …

By Siobhan O’Leary German media giants Bertelsmann and Holtzbrinck are teaming up to create an online direct to consumer e-book distribution platform focused on German-language e-books from their own programs, as well as from third parties. According to The Bookseller, the partners have not yet announced a launch date but have submitted paperwork to the European Commission in Brussels for …

By Siobhan O’Leary Bertelsmann’s Direct Group is exiting the Portuguese market and has sold club business Circulo de Leitores, along with the 54 branches of the book chain Bertrand Livreiros and five publishers, to local publishing group Porto Editora for an undisclosed amount. According to the Boersenblatt, the five publishing houses included in the deal, which is still pending approval …